Just As Bad
This story is brought to you by Snivy For seasons, the cats of Mercury's camp have lived under a code that allows battle and death. But one day, a young tom named Halo stops it all, with some help of his friends. Mercury's Camp Leader: Mercury - black and ginger tom Followers: Willow - grey tabby she-cat with green eyes Trout - blue-grey tom Eagle - brown tabby tom with black slash across eyes River - blue-grey tabby she-cat Ice - white tom Ember - orange tabby she-cat Hawk - dark brown tabby tom with white paws, underbelly and tail-tip Nettle - dark grey tabby she-cat Grey - grey tom with amber eyes Jasper - red-brown tabby tom Mouse - small, dusty brown tom Cloud - white she-cat with green eyes Halo - handsome blonde tom with white paws Prologue Screeching cats flung themselves at each other, hissing viciously. Mercury leapt onto a pale grey she-cat. "Mercury, no!" the she-cat shrieked. Mercury slid off the she-cat. "What do you want, Sky?" he growled as he unsheathed is claws fiercely. "I'm expecting your kits!" Sky yowled. "Please don't kill me!" Mercury snorted. "You betrayed me and my followers," he hissed to his ex-mate. "You mean nothing to me!" And with that, Mercury flung himself on top of the expectant queen and sank his teeth into her neck. "Mercury! Please don't do it.." Sky gasped as Mercury slashed open her belly. "You betrayed us, Sky," Mercury's blue eyes were cold with hatred. "You deserve to die." "No! Please, you have to understand.." "Goodbye forever, Sky," Mercury hissed as he bit into Sky's neck bones as hard as he could. With a sickening crunch, Sky fell limp in his jaws. Dropping the she-cat, Mercury licked his lips, which were smeared with blood. Meanwhile, a young tom, Halo, stared in horror at his sister's body. "No!" Halo ran up to Sky and weeped into her cold, lifeless fur. Halo lifted his head and saw Mercury staring at him with the coldness of leaf-bare in his eyes. "You killed Sky.." Halo breathed, staring at his blood-covered paws. "So what," Mercury licked his paws. "She was a beastly traitor. She told all of our plans to Emberstar, the old hag! She betrayed us to SkyClan. She deserved to die." "No.." Halo fell to his paws. "No.." Halo couldn't speak. He stared at his paws, horrified at what Mercury had become. The two had known each other as kits, and grew up together. Mercury wouldn't have killed then. What has Mercury become? Halo got up and dragged his heavy body to his dead sister. For as long as I live, I promise that I will destroy Mercury, no matter how long it takes. ''Halo promised as he fell into an uneasy sleep. Chapter 1 Halo dragged the lifeless bird back to camp. It had been three seasons since the battle with SkyClan, which resulted in many deaths, one being Sky's. "Great catch, Halo!" Cloud praised. Cloud was a young white she-cat, Sky's best friend. Halo couldn't get enough strength to tell the pretty she-cat that he liked her. "T-Thanks," Halo stammered. He continued dragging the bird to the prey pile and when he got there, he collapsed. "It's a big bird," Mouse commented. Now, Mouse may seem small, but he had claws as sharp as dog's teeth. "Don't judge cats by their looks," Mouse would occasionally say. "Tell me about it!" Halo purred as he padded off to patrol. "You have to patrol as soon as you finish hunting," Mercury had ordered. The cats in Mercury's camp, or, 'Survivors', he liked to call them, didn't excactly have borders. But the 'Survivors' check that no cat trespasses, and if they do, the trespasser dies. Halo shuddered as he thought about death. The Survivors would fight most of the time, and even in their own camp, the Survivors would feel uncomfortable. ''Because Mercury is a terrible leader, ''Halo thought bitterly as he crossed the SkyClan border. Halo ''was friends with SkyClan cats, in a way. He and Sky had always wanted to be warriors that could climb trees that reached the moon. So they met the SkyClan leader, Emberstar, and they agreed to a truce that Mercury did not. Halo stopped. A rustling in the bushes caught the blonde tom's attention. A grey tom with black paws leapt onto Halo, hissing furiously. "Intruder!" the SkyClan tom hissed amusingly. "What are you doing here?" "I'm here to see Emberstar, Reedheart," Halo stifled a purr of laughter. Reedheart slid off Halo and grinned. "Of course, buddy!" He led Halo to SkyClan's camp. "Long time, no see, Halo," Emberstar mewed to Halo. "You too, Emberstar." Halo replied. As he explained why he was at the SkyClan camp, Halo spied a black she-cat with white slashes, who he recognized as Nightbreeze. She was a young warrior, only having a warrior name for two moons. He had made friends with the young she-cat, and secretly had a crush on her. Halo stared at Nightbreeze for the hundredth time, examining every part of her slender body. Her black fur was glossy, like the night sky she was named after. Her white stripes seemed to be shimmering like the stars. If he were to describe her, he would describe her as the calm, night decorated with the moon and stars. She's beautiful than ever today. "Hello, Halo!" she mewed. "Nice day, isn't it?" "Yep," he responded, narrowing his blue gaze. Silence. "You should go back to camp, Halo," Emberstar piped up after a while. "Yes, of course," Halo mewed. He padded away from the camp. I'll ask her to be my mate the next time I see her, ''he vowed. Chapter 2 Halo sighed in his nest. "Halo!" Mercury's sharp hiss woke the blonde tom. "What is it, Mercury?" Halo asked, sitting up. "You've overslept!" the black and ginger leader hissed. "As punishment, you will have to patrol until sunset. And don't you even think about eating!" Halo blinked. "Yes, Mercury," he mewed, trying to hide his joy. He could meet Nightbreeze, and ask her to be his mate! "Go now!" Mercury yowled at his follower. "Or I'll rip your belly open!" Halo rushed out of the den, thanking Mercury for being so harsh for once. ... "I know what you're thinking, Halo," Nightbreeze breathed. "You love me, right?" Halo stopped in his tracks, dropping his bird. "N-noooo..." Halo stammered, blushing. "Of course," Nightbreeze turned away. "Of course you do." Halo turned around. "You don't have a mate, do you?" Turning her head back to face Halo, Nightbreeze continued, "If I could have one, I'd like it to be you." "Me too," Halo blurted out. Before he could do anything, Halo mewed the words to her. "Nightbreeze, will you be my mate?" Nightbreeze froze in shock and joy. "Of course," she purred. ... "It's getting late, Halo," Emberstar mewed, staring out of his den. "You could sleep in the warriors' den tonight. "Thanks!" Halo replied, padding off to the bush where the warriors slept. "Are we going to share a nest?" he asked Nightbreeze as he ducked his head under the bush entrance. "Sure, why not," she replied sleepily. Halo sank down next to his mate and dozed off, his paws sprawled across the nest. ... Halo yawned as he padded back to the Survivors' camp. "HALO!!" Halo stopped. "You're ''back," Mercury hissed, arching his back. "a sunhigh late!" "I fell asleep," Halo apologized. "On the border. The job must've been too tirin-" "SILENCE!" Mercury yowled. "Ember saw you cross the border!" Oh no.. "What were you doing?!" Mercury continued snarling. "I-I-" "Wait a moment." Mercury padded around Halo, sniffing at his pelt. "You have SkyClan scent on your pelt!" Mercury pinned down Halo's neck. "You're spying for those mouse-hearts!" Mercury accused. "N-No," Halo stammered, but Mercury had already flipped. "You TRAITOR!" the black and ginger tom screeched. "You're worth NOTHING, like your good-for-nothing sister!" And with that, Mercury slashed Halo's belly open. Halo gasped as his vision was edged with red. "I trusted you, Halo, out of all of my cats!" Mercury screeched, slashing Halo's cheek. "Of all these cats!" Halo panted as he tried to claw at Mercury's eyes. "You're going to die today, traitor!" Mercury slashed Halo's legs viciously. Halo's vision got blurrier and blurrier until he couldn't see anymore. Chapter 3 Halo felt like he was lying in the forest for days. Mercury had left him there for the foxes to find him. Until Reedheart came. "What'' happened,'' Halo?" the grey tom had cried. Halo hadn't replied because he was choking on his own blood. So Reedheart had dragged his nearly dead friend to the SkyClan camp, where he had been healed by Bluefade, the SkyClan medicine cat. Halo gasped as the plant collided with his neck. "Sorry," Bluefade apologized. "I'll go get some dock.." Bluefade's blue-grey tabby pelt whisked away. Then a familiar scent hit Halo's nose. "Are you okay, Halo?" Nightbreeze asked her mate. "Y-Yes," Halo croaked. Nightbreeze sighed and sat down. "You could live in SkyClan," she purred. "Yes!" Halo almost stood up in happiness. All of a sudden, a broad, white face poked inside the den. "You okay, Halo?" Emberstar fretted as he cautiously washed his yellow tabby fur. "Can he stay in SkyClan and be a warrior?" Nightbreeze asked before Halo could reply. Emberstar seemed to be taken aback. After he thought for a while, he mewed, "Yes. Of course." Halo grinned. "Thanks, Emberstar." Four moons later.. "Let all cats old enough to climb trees gather beneath the Skyledge for a Clan meeting!" Halo's ears perked up with interest, and he padded out into the clearing. As the cats gathered, Emberstar announced, "It is time for Halo to become a warrior!" Halo's heart pounded in his chest. He padded forward slowly. "I, Emberstar, leader of SkyClan, call upon m warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Emberstar leapt down from the Skyledge. He gazed at Halo. "Halo," he started. "do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" "I do, Emberstar," Halo meowed loudly. "Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Halo, from this moment you will be known as Sunfire. StarClan honours your bravery and quick-thinking, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan." Emberstar touched his nose to Sunfire's head, and in return he licked his leader's shoulder. "Sunfire! Sunfire!" "As it is tradition, Sunfire will sit and guard the camp while we are all sleeping," Emberstar continued when the yowls died down. Sunfire dipped his head. As he padded towards the camp entrance, Sunfire spied Nightbreeze coming out of the nursery, her belly swollen with kits. Bluefade had announced that she'd be due any day now. "Congratulations," she purred, her voice strained. Sunfire nudged his mate's ear thankfully. Sunfire yawned as he prepared for a long and tiring night of guard duty. Chapter 4 It was the pained shriek that woke Sunfire from his sleep. He'd only slept for a little while after he'd finished guard duty. "Nightbreeze!" he mewed, alarmed, as he realized what was going to happen. Sunfire dashed to the nursery, and surely enough, Nightbreeze was moaning, her belly looking more swollen than ever. Bluefade was by the black she-cat's side. "Is she okay? Will she die?" Sunfire blurted out. "She's not doing that okay," Bluefade responded, kneading Nightbreeze's belly gently, which Sunfire assumed was an attempt of relaxing the stressed queen. "but she will live." Sunfire sighed relief. Nightbreeze gasped, which was followed by a blood-curdling shriek. "Sunfire!" she gasped. "I'm here," he responded, bending down beside her and licking her face comfortingly. "Don't leave me!" she gasped. "I won't," he promised. "You're lucky," Bluefade mewed. "You get to witness the miracle of birth." Then turning to Nightbreeze, the blue-grey medicine cat mewed, "When I say so, push as hard as you can, alright?" Nighbreeze nodded, breathing quick breaths. Bluefade stopped kneading the queen's belly. "Sunfire, go stand there," Bluefade ordered, pointing her tail at a patch of moss where Nightbreeze's kits would come out. "Okay," he replied, doing so. Dawnpetal, an expectant queen, was licking Nightbreeze's belly gently. "Make sure you remember that you must do this for your kits," she mewed, as she was giving birth to her second litter and had a lot of experience. "Does it hurt?" Nightbreeze asked. "Oh, yes," Dawnpetal purred. "but it'll be over soon." "Now!" Bluefade yowled. Nightbreeze gasped, and pushed. Sunfire saw a slimy thing start to come out. As he watched his kit slowly come into the world, he could almost feel what Nightbreeze felt - massive, spasms of pain and a pulling sensation under her tail. "The first one's coming," he told Bluefade, who ducked her head to see. "Harder!" Bluefade instructed Nightbreeze. Nighbreeze groaned, and the kit fell onto the moss. It appeared to be black and yellow when Bluefade split open the sac, and it was mewling shrilly. Following his instincts, Sunfire picked up the kit and put it at Nightbreeze's belly. "Next one's coming!" Bluefade yowled. Soon afterwards, four squirming kits were at Nightbreeze's belly. The queen purred happily. "You did it," Sunfire mewed. "My kits. You did it." He sunk down to his paws, and purred beside the little lives that were his to look after. Chapter 5 wip